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Comparison of Window Glazing technology

Window Installation

Over the last decade or so, glazing technologies are maturing to provide better energy savings combining the overall effects of solar gains and the insulating values. With the advent of spectrally selective glazing and their increasing use in the North American housing markets, it is important to establish the energy performance parameters. During the winter heating season of 2005-2006 and the summer cooling season of 2006, the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology (CCHT) ran a series of tests to determine the impact of spectrally selective coated glass on energy consumption at its twin R-2000 house facility.

Illustration of the two window glazings

Two low-emissivity (low-e) coatings were compared on a whole house basis: a high solar heat gain glazing and a low solar heat gain glazing technology. In addition to impact on energy consumption, differences in room temperatures, window surface temperatures, and the transmission of solar radiation were evaluated. Energy use predictions using the energy simulation models (ESPr and HOT-2000) were compared using the monitored data from this research facility. In turn, the models were applied to different locations across North America to determine the benefits of different types of glazing on annual energy and costs in different Canadian and US climates.